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Written by Jan Stadtherr
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There was a wealth of reminiscing one evening as Roland and Shirley Bosch shared memories from their home on the Bosch farmstead between Atwater and Lake Lillian. It’s a farmstead that has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1987. Four generations have called it home.
The couple has lived on the historic property for all of their 56 years of married life. Except for a brief time in Renville County, where Roland was born, he has lived on the farmstead nearly all of his 80 years.
The homestead gained national recognition due mainly in part to John Bosch, Roland’s uncle, who led the movement of the Farmers Holiday Association in Minnesota during the 1930s. Its focus was to alleviate the economic troubles of the farmer during the Great Depression by stopping foreclosure auctions and withholding their produce from market until higher prices were assured allowing farmers to meet their mortgage and tax payments.
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Written by Jean Lemmon
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You are never too old to try something new. Just ask Arlen Wahl. At age 65, he started taking fiddling lessons. Today at age 74, he owns over 70 violins and is still fiddling around with them.
Arlen can be seen at the Fergus Falls Senior Center five days a week. He delivers meals to Riverview and River Bend apartments. A job he has been doing for over a year. In his spare time he reads history books and fiddles.
“I bought a majority of my violins on e-bay.They have come from Louisiana, Texas, and West Virgina. They range from one quarter size to full size.
“ My dad, Herman, was a fiddler. My favorite violin belonged to him. It is a Strad copy made in 1910. He cleared a farmer’s field in exchange for the violin. The German maker’s name was scratched off, but we estimated it was made in 1910.
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Written by Bev Ahlquist
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A protractor, a small compass and a gouging knife.
Simple tools but very effective in creating designs in basswood, at least for 78-year-old Lowell Anderson of rural Clara City who has won numerous blue ribbons, grand champions and taken best of show at several county fairs as well as the Sons of Norway International convention.
“It really makes you feel good when you go to a fair and get all these ribbons. I’ve never had anything but a blue ribbon.”
He has his wife Barb to thank for getting into this art form, since she’s the one that suggested he take a chip carving class at the Kultur Hus in Sunburg.
He took two classes from Bob Bredeson of Kandiyohi to begin with and now a year later he’s taken a few more classes.
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Written by Dori Otterman
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Roger Perry and his wife, Wilma, are survivors. At age 93 and 92 respectively, they live independently in their home on the shore of Lake Le Homme Dieu near Alexandria. If tempted to envy the view out of their living room window, don’t, they’ve earned it.
Roger was born in Marshall Town, Iowa, in 1916. He went to school there, grade school, middle school and high school. Upon graduation, unlike the majority of his generation, he went to junior college for one year and then attended William Penn on a football scholarship.
Roger’s dad worked for the railroad, and for a while, Roger did, too. He always had been more interested in business, so after the war, he went to work for Montgomery Ward, and they sent him to Fort Dodge, Iowa, to manage the appliance department. He worked strictly on commission, and that was tough because no one had much money to buy things. He tried starting his own appliance store, but “that didn’t go”, so he went to work for a furniture store. There he found that he enjoyed the furniture business, but he really wanted to have a business of his own. Not having much money, the easiest thing he could get into was a small sandwich shop in St. Cloud. The owner had only had the business three months before he gave it up, but Roger had it eight years.
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Written by Daryl Klous
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 Donald L. Syvertson of Glenwood is someone who reclaims what others may discard as unusable. Syvertson takes pieces of used wood and fashions them into something beautiful. He has the patience and skill to transform reclaimed boards, found tree limbs, willow tree branches, and recycled lumber into interesting rustic pieces of furniture.
“I make bent willow chairs, tables, armoires, plant stands, headboards, benches, and a variety of other usable everyday furniture and decorative items.” he said.
When looking at Syvertson’s work, you will note that he has a keen eye for detail and a very humble manner.
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